Captured
by kankakodoku
Summary: When Van makes an unexpected discovery, things take a turn for the worse.


When Luke awoke, he was conscious of two things: absolute darkness, and the fact that his body ached all over. For a long moment he panicked, unable to recall where he was or how he had come to be there…the memories only trickling back agonizingly slow through his foggy mind.

They'd been ambushed…taken by surprise…the soldiers had been after him, and him alone. A fact that he of course had failed to realize—a fact they had _all_ failed to realize—until after they had succeeded in isolating him from the others. He'd found himself surrounded, and he had _tried_, tried so damn _hard_, but in the end he had been engaged in a parry and steadily losing ground when he felt someone brush up against him from behind and clamp something wet and smothering over his mouth. He'd instinctively gasped, and that had been his downfall—his vision immediately tunneled and went black.

He couldn't be certain, but he thought he had heard Tear calling his name as he'd blacked out.

She hadn't sounded in pain…just worried. If they'd been after him, they probably would have left the others alone after achieving their objective….or so Luke hoped. Were they all right? For now, there was no way for him to know.

Luke picked himself up from where he lay on his side, somewhat sore from the lack of padding between him and the ground after resting on it for such a long time, and cautiously drew himself up to a sitting position in the dark. Behind him was a wall, it felt like stone…

At that moment he was blinded by light as a door opened at the far end of the cell. To Luke's vast surprise, the guard not holding the fonic lantern pushed a third individual into the cell—this person resisting all attempts on the part of the guard to move him so much as an inch until finally the guard resorted to forcibly tripping him. He fell face first onto the stone flooring, and Luke noted the copper-red sheen the lighting gave to the man's long hair as he descended, wincing at the desperate cry of pain emitted when he crashed to the floor.

It was at this point that Luke realized two more things: this man was none other than Asch, and judging by the way he had been unable to break his fall, his arms were handcuffed, probably behind his back.

The door swung closed, and Luke saw nothing but spots floating in darkness as the room went black again.

For a long minute, the only sound that filled the room was the harsh rasp of Asch's halting breathing as he gasped for air. It sounded terrible; Luke surmised that the fall had completely knocked the wind out of his original.

"…are you all right?" Luke hesitantly asked when it sounded like Asch had recovered at least a little, voice rough to his own ears from disuse.

There was a long space of silence, during which Luke could hear Asch trying to regulate his breathing to a more normal level and dismally failing. "Of _course_ I'm not all right," came Asch's reply, pain audibly forced in check but still bleeding through. "But I'll be _damned_ if they don't remember what it cost them to take me down." There was a broken laugh that trailed off into a wheezing cough.

Luke was beginning to worry. Asch did not sound well _at all._ "Asch…"

"…_what?_"

"You don't sound too good…is there anything—"

"There isn't." Asch bit out. "So just shut up and start applying your limited brain power to figuring out how we're going to get out of this."

Luke reluctantly crawled away from his position by the wall, tentatively feeling the ground in front of him until his fingertips brushed against the fabric of Asch's overlay. He followed it up until he found the owner attached to it.

"What the hell are you—" The form beneath his fingers jumped. Luke however was more dismayed by the wet smear that had spread across his palm when it had happened.

"…you're bleeding."

"Of _course_ I'm bleeding, you idiot. Now leave me the _hell_ alone!" there was a great deal of shuffling as Asch attempted to get to his feet, followed by his near immediate collapse back to his knees and a loud retching sound. From past experiences with the flu when he too had had long hair, Luke quickly felt for and pulled back Asch's hair from his face as much as he was able. A rising sense of panic flooded through him. Where had Asch been hurt, and to what extent? He certainly was in a poor state of affairs, but how much damage had been done Luke could only guess at. And he'd felt blood earlier, but even that wound he wasn't sure what it looked like—he couldn't see anything with the absolute lack of light. It wasn't like he could just start feeling up the God-General quivering in his grasp, either. He was pretty sure—absolutely sure--Asch would not take it well.

Again, Asch attempted to push away from his grip. "What part…of…_stay the hell away from me_…..don't you understand!?"

"Asch…" Luke released his hair. What could he do? Trying to help Asch just resulted in further agitating him. But at the same time…

"J-just--stay—away—" The words abruptly slammed to a halt, and suddenly the full weight of his original fell onto Luke.

"A-Asch?"

Had he just passed out? Oh _shit_, he had just passed out.

This worked better in some ways, but did not bode well at all on some fronts. And as his hands grew warm and slippery with the other's blood, Luke suddenly found himself facing the idea that Asch might die. It was a crashing realization; the thought had never really occurred to him; sure, he himself might meet some unfortunate end, but—this was Asch, the one who'd been born to fulfill the Score—he couldn't _die_, he wasn't _supposed_ to.

"Asch? Asch!" Luke shook him slightly, and was dismayed when he was greeted by no angry exclamation of profound hatred. What….what did one do in such a situation? He wasn't a healer, he was attuned to seventh fonons but didn't know how to use them for repairing the body's flesh. The only thing he did have was a vague awareness of how to use hyper-resonance, and that was hardly going to be useful here.

_I-I should stop the bleeding…_

Luke gently laid out the god general on his side—the handcuffs made it awkward, since he couldn't lay him on his back, but laying him face down on the floor didn't seem all that nice either. With Asch out, he could now safely check him over for injuries….Luke blushed a bit as he gently patted up and down the still form, feeling awkward to say the least. Eventually he concluded that Asch was superficially hurt in a number of places, but had suffered a deep gash on his right side. This was where most of the blood was coming from. Luke sought for a way to undo Asch's tabard—it took him a few minutes, as it was dark and his hands were sticky with blood by this point—finally undoing the collar section and detaching the front overlay from it. Moving Asch as little as necessary, he wrapped it around the other's torso, holding it in place and applying pressure. It wasn't really a bandage, but at least it was better than trying to stop the flow with nothing but his bare hands.

He stayed that way for ages, it seemed; with nothing to mark the passage of time, the darkness seemed to extend on forever. The only thing that separated one moment from the next was the steady rise and fall of his own breathing, and the more staggered version coming from Asch. Without anything better to do, Luke listened to it in the darkness, practiced timing his breath with the other's and finding that it was easy to sync them together, although the latter's breathing tending to run much more shallow. After a long, long while, he cautiously let go of where he had been holding Asch's side, wincing as he gingerly patted the surrounding area. It….did not feel normal, but it seemed to have clotted for the most part. Luke wiped his hands off as best as he could on some of Asch's spare uniform (hey, it _was_ his blood after all), but not all of it came off, as it had long since dried quite thoroughly on his hands. Yick.

Luke's back ached from bending over for so long, and his knees protested the way that they had been braced against the concrete. He shifted to another position, although with nothing between him and the rock that constituted the flooring of this miserable place, there was no real way to be comfortable. His battle damage was nothing more than a passing inconvenience compared to what Asch seemed to have been through; he ached all over rather terribly but at least he hadn't been injured too severely. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more he was sort of embarrassed…Asch had obviously put up much more of a fight than he had. It was sort of depressing, and served to remind him again that he was nothing more than a copy, and one with inferior skills at that…

Feeling suddenly tired, Luke lay down on the stone and curled up into a ball, taking care that he was within arm's reach of Asch but not _too_ close next to him, either. He also made sure to mentally mark where Asch's cozy puddle of stomach contents was in relation to their position. It wasn't exactly something he wanted to stick his hand in while groping around later.

He closed his eyes, but somehow it made the darkness even more oppressive. And he was cold, too; his coat hardly provided enough warmth, being cut the way it was. And of course, he'd _had_ to go for the latest belly-baring shirt…

His thoughts trailed off into idle misery. It was hard enough to keep himself together at times when he was with the others, now he was here by himself in the dark with no one at all except for an unconscious Asch. And while he was out and not snarling at Luke like usual, his very presence inspired Luke's mind to dwell on things that took a very morbid path…he'd lived his whole life as an impostor, and he had _never even known_. Where was he to go? What was he to do? He had no answer, and now he found himself in enemy hands trapped in a pitch black cell with the person whose life he had stolen sprawled out in front of him, possibly dying. He was helpless, as usual, and that thought haunted him until he finally drifted off to sleep.

--

_Luke found himself in a barren, rocky place where the sky stretched overhead in an endless expanse of soulless grey. Not knowing what else to do, only possessing a vague sense that he _ought_ to be doing it, he began to move through the wasteland, treacherous as the way was. _

_He didn't really know what he was searching for until he found it: a blur of color amidst a sea of grey, a patch of vibrant red breaking the monochrome scale that enforced itself upon the rest of the surroundings. _

_Asch sat upon a large boulder, and as Luke grew closer, he saw that he was chained to it; spikes of iron driven deep into the surface of the rock serving as an anchor for the metal links that fastened around his individual feet and hands. Asch himself still had a limited degree of movement, although he would definitely not be able to leave his place. Currently he had his legs drawn up close to his chest as he stared out into the darkness in front of him at something that Luke couldn't see. _

"_It comes," he said softly, more to himself than anything else, and Luke wondered if Asch had even noticed his presence before the other suddenly stiffened, turning to look at him before relaxing slightly. _

"_Oh, it's _you_." Asch didn't sound thrilled._

_Luke said nothing for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then, cautiously, he approached the place where Asch was bound. "Why are you here?"he asked, at long last._

"_..I have always been here."_

"_Always?"_

"_Ever since that day seven years ago."_

_A tumultuous grinding and crashing sound filled the air, and Luke crouched low to the ground until the earthquake passed. "What was that?"_

"_Take a look for yourself, if you like. Beware the edge if you care for your life." Asch made a vague gesture to the landscape in front of him. _

_Curiosity piqued, Luke stood and made his way towards the direction that Asch had indicated. He hadn't gone more than twenty meters when he was forced to halt—the ground in front of him dropped off abruptly, forming a sheer cliff face that faded into darkness. A vast sense of _nothingness_ flooded through Luke; that as much as the vertigo caused him to collapse to his hands and knees. Even as he knelt there, rocks broke away from the edge, tumbling into the bottomless abyss. _

"_What…what is this?"_

"_The end," Asch replied simply, two words somehow managing to convey to Luke the impression of resignation, relief….and regret._

--

Luke was abruptly woken by a rather loud cry of pain, immediately after which a flailing arm nailed him in the face.

"Asch!"

"What---where---I can't see—"

"Asch! It's all right! You haven't lost your vision, it's just really dark in here. Calm down!"

There was an abrupt clicking of teeth and Asch fell silent, not moving in the slightest but still breathing with that awful ragged edge. Presumably he was remembering what had happened; thinking about it Luke didn't really blame his reaction—waking up in a place with no light but one hell of a lot of pain had to be pretty scary, after all.

"How…" Asch started, trailing off. "How much time has passed…?"

"I don't know."

"Has anyone come in?"

"Not since they dropped you off." Luke waited for a response, but none came. "How are you feeling?"

Asch didn't reply.

"I…I tried to stop the bleeding….I didn't really know what to do, but it seemed to have stopped…." Even as he said it he knew he was coming off as dumb. Although that _was_ probably already Asch's view of him already, but…

"That's the least of my worries," came back Asch's voice from in front of him. "I think some of my ribs are either cracked or broken."

"…oh." That…wasn't good. Not at all. "Was it from the fall?"

"…it was from earlier. Though that didn't really help matters, you could say."

"Are you having trouble breathing?"

"…what do you think?" Asch's voice was tired. Luke could practically hear the thoughts going through Asch's mind: _I can't fight like this, and I'm going to be incapacitated for some time. All I have with me is my worn-down self and my entirely useless replica, I am so totally screwed._

"Is it going to take a while to heal?"

"…you've never broken a rib before, have you?"

"No…"

"It can take weeks. And more weeks. All of which is time I _do not have_. Even with access to a healer I would still be bedridden for some time." Asch stopped to catch his breath. "I can barely _breathe_ like this, much less fight."

"That's…not good…"

"Not really, no."

"Are you sure they're not just bruised or anything? Maybe they'll heal—"

"Dreck, I am quite sure from past experiences that they are broken. In all honesty, I will be lucky if I have escaped from sustaining any internal injuries."

Internal injuries…oh. Oh. Shit. He hadn't thought about it in depth, but…if one of the fragments of bone had been driven in the direction of some organ…

A hacking cough filled the room, just having to listen to it was painful. Luke wondered if he was coughing up blood. Asch probably wouldn't tell him either way. How long would they be trapped here? Surely someone would come in to feed them or something sooner or later, even if they couldn't escape at least they might be able to beg for some help. The last thing Luke wanted was to wake up and find that the only breathing in the room besides his own had stilled….

"Dammit," Asch cursed, and Luke heard the clink of metal against metal.

"Do you need—"

"No"

"Are you sure? I can help you sit against---"

"_No._" Asch seemed to be slowly dragging himself across the floor. Although…

"Just to warn you, if you're going the direction I think you are, your lunch from yesterday is sitting in a pile somewhere close by."

The rustling began moving in the other direction, interspersed by coughing fits, then resuming again.

_This is ridiculous_, Luke thought. He felt his way over to where Asch was, almost jumping when his hands encountered him at last.

"I thought I told you—"

"Shut up, okay?" Luke half-dragged him across the floor to the nearest wall, taking care to avoid putting too much strain on Asch's torso but still causing the other's breath to hitch at times.

Asch let out a relatively long exhalation of breath when he finally rested his shoulders against the wall. "…this is better."

"I don't see why they had to handcuff you. They didn't handcuff me."

"I also took down half a platoon of their soldiers by myself. I'm more dangerous than you are."

"….ah." Luke flushed with embarrassment, and unable to think of anything to say, the room lapsed into silence.

--

A long while later—Luke had no idea how much time had passed—there was a sound of scraping metal and suddenly a section near the bottom of the door slid back, allowing a small tray of food to be pushed through. Luke imprinted the memory of what was where as best as he could into his mind, for sure enough, no sooner had the edge of the tray cleared the doorway the trapdoor was sliding shut again.

Luke wobbled to his feet, stumbling over to the entrance. "Hey! _Hey!_" he shouted, banging his fists against the metal. "Come back! There's someone here who needs medical—"

"Give it up, replica, they aren't coming back."

"We have to at least try—I mean—what if you _are_—"

"Then I am. Shut up already, you're making my headache worse." Asch took a few deeply drawn breaths, concentrating from the effort. A moment later, he asked, "…what did they send us?"

Luke felt his way downwards until he encountered the lip of the tray. "Feels like…a jug of water—at least, that's what I'm assuming it is, and…two loaves of bread."

"…fine dining."

"…yeah." Talk about stereotypical prison food. Luke carefully dragged the tray over to the wall where Asch still laid propped up against. His sense of where things were in the dark was improving drastically; it probably helped that Asch wasn't exactly inclined to move around a whole lot. Luke had come to rely more on his ears and less on his eyes, so he was able to find his way back to the other's side by the sound of his breath alone. The fact that Asch's breathing was starting to take on more and more of a rasping wheeze as time went on only simplified this task—though Luke wasn't fond of the implications _that_ brought.

The cell was starting to smell positively rank by this point; there were no bathroom facilities available, so they'd had to mark off a corner for that purpose. Still, it wasn't enough to kill Luke's hunger—he was positively starved by now. He picked up a loaf, then put it down.

"Are you hungry?" Luke asked.

Asch didn't reply. Luke was getting somewhat accustomed to dealing with Asch, now; you didn't ask him permission to do something, because that just invited him to angrily snarl at you that he _did not need your help, thank you very much_.

With his hands secured as they were, Asch wouldn't be able to feed himself. He was probably as much in need of food and water as Luke was—hell, he probably needed it a lot more, considering his condition and all that throwing up earlier on—but the only alternative left to him would be to let Luke feed him. And Luke knew Asch would rather starve than ask for such a thing, and so he would merely have to do it on his own _without_ asking Asch what he thought on the subject.

"I wonder how long we'll be trapped here," Luke wondered aloud, tearing one of the loafs into bite sized pieces. "Whoever went to all the trouble to capture us alive must have some plans beyond letting us rot here for the rest of our lives."

"Can you be so certain?" replied Asch. "Logic has long since left your precious Commandant Grants."

"You think this is Master Van's doing, then?"

"You still refer to him as 'master'?" Disgust was evident in Asch's voice. "But yes, to answer your question, I do suspect his hand in this matter."

"But…why would he want both of us? If he needs hyper-resonance, one would have sufficed."

"How would I know? Do I _look_ like a crazed lunatic?"

"Actually, I can't really see much of anything right now, so I'm not really able to—"

"Dreck, any further display of your pitiful brand of humor, and I'll…" Asch broke off to engage in an intense coughing fit. Though he hadn't thought it possible, it almost seemed to Luke as if it were even worse than what Asch had been suffering through before.

"Asch? Are you all right?" No response…listening to it, there was now a more liquid edge; it sounded like Asch was choking on his own spit.

Or blood.

Luke reached over, finding Asch's shoulders; he was shaking uncontrollably under Luke's touch. A splattering sound echoed through the cell, and Asch's quaking eased somewhat, though he was now making terrible gasping noises as he struggled for breath, hyperventilating. It was a long time before Asch was able to breathe even close to normally again, and Luke released him when it seemed he had recovered.

"That _bastard_…"

"What?"

But Asch didn't reply, overtaken by another spell. It was an even longer time before he finished, laying his head back against the wall and taking short, rapid—but less choked--breaths, Luke silent by his side, having been unable to do much other than listen wide-eyed in the darkness.

Was this it, then? Asch was obviously getting worse. Luke cursed his lack of medical knowledge; he had only the most general idea of what was wrong with him and no idea how to help. Although a part of him wondered how much he could help, even if he knew what had been damaged. If Tear or Natalia were here…then maybe….but they weren't here. It was just Luke, Luke and Asch.

How much longer could Asch hold out? No chance for escape had shown itself at all; no one had even come in. And even if they had somehow managed to break free, Asch was weakening drastically as time passed—Luke honestly wasn't sure that he would even be able to walk at this point, even if Luke could somehow create an avenue of escape.

But…surely the others would be searching for them? This was _hardly_ the first time that one of the members of the group had been taken captive; and their little band of would-be world saviors did have a lot going for it in terms of battle capacity. And even if Luke didn't understand the situation; surely the others might have some insight. Hell, Jade always seemed to know what was going on, even when no one else did. There _were_ some benefits to having the creepy Colonel around, after all.

So…sit back and let the others find them, then.

But…this didn't feel right.

Increasingly, Luke was beginning to realize that they were running out of time.

Then…

"Asch? Asch, can you hear me?" He gave the slumping figure a small shake, only to be greeted by Asch sliding away from him when he let go; apparently, he'd lost consciousness again. Luke quickly caught him and guided him back towards himself, leaning Asch's form against his own and holding his breath for a long minute, trying to hear….yes, he was still breathing, but weakly. Very weakly. Luke wondered that he was getting anything out of the breaths he took; so slow and so shallow did they come.

"Asch, I need your help."

No response.

"Dammit!" Luke ran an agitated hand through his matted hair, short as it now was. He didn't want Asch to _die_. He didn't need the guilt of another death hanging over his head. He had enough blood on his hands already. As much as he hated the man, he didn't blame Asch for how he treated him. Yes, the asshole could be a little more considerate in his phrasing, and he didn't have to go out of his way all the time to insult Luke. But he did bear with it as best as he could (despite the ever present temptation to smack Asch over the head with his sword), knowing that the man had good reason to be angry at him. He had been replaced, after all. If not for Luke, then maybe his life would not have been as empty—maybe he would have been sought after and returned to the manner. Then he would have grown up with all the privileges that came with being the son of the Duke. And maybe he wouldn't have ended up here, slowly dying in an extremely painful fashion in this godforsaken dungeon.

Desperately, he flashed back to Tear's training, her instruction upon how to call seventh fonons to himself. It was dangerous—he didn't want to blow themselves out of here and into a possibly worse situation--but…

Some answered his call; with enough concentration, he surprised himself when he was actually able to actually create a soft yellow glow around his hands. He glanced at Asch, and the light dimmed and nearly went out as he saw the damage: the God-General was pale, far paler than was right; his uniform was diced to shreds along with the body underneath. Feeling it was one thing, seeing it another; Luke was glad that the most severe of the wounds was hidden from his sight. But what Luke was most struck by was Asch's expression—it was so vulnerable that it seemed incongruous with everything Luke had ever known about him. Perhaps it was because he had never seen Asch unconscious or asleep before, but with his eyes closed and mouth relaxed from that omnipresent sneer the bastard always put on around him, Luke couldn't help but think that Asch looked…almost peaceful, and more than a little frail, too. It was a complete change from what he was used to, Luke wasn't sure what to make of it.

Snapping out of his reverie, Luke focused on his original purpose. But his control was not refined enough; his call not reaching sufficiently far, and he let the light dim and go out as he realized that he wouldn't be breaking down any sort of matter with the degree of attunement he had.

So much for that.

A sense of despair washed through him. What good was he, then? Asch could do it, Luke was sure--but he'd been too weak to pull it off from the moment he'd arrived here, that much was obvious. Luke perhaps had the energy for it but not the ability. So he could make pretty glowing lights in the dark. Great. That wasn't going to be too helpful.

Asch was leaning heavily on him now, dead weight piling onto his right side. Luke wrapped an arm around him as support. It was awkwardly intimate, but if Asch were going to die, then…he wanted to know. For now he waited and listened in the dark, measuring the rise and fall of each of Asch's breaths as the seconds ticked away…

--

_Luke wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep again. But he guessed he had to have, because he was back again in this terribly miserable place. The sky was now even more overcast; the lighting darker than before. Luke picked his way through the stones, again searching for the only other occupant of the area._

_He found him soon enough--Asch had not moved from his spot. He remained in much the same position as last time, though his chin now rested upon his drawn up knees, eyes closed. _

_As Luke grew closer, he saw that the edge of the chasm had advanced significantly; it now lay but a few scant meters from where Asch was bound. He drew nearer, but the other paid him no notice until Luke had scrambled up on the boulder and placed a hand on his shoulder. _

_Asch flinched beneath his touch, then lifted his head slightly, his green eyes piercing from where they shone through his tousled hair. "Go away," he snarled, obviously irritated, and when Luke didn't move, he reached out a hand to abruptly shove his pesky replica off of the rock. "Can't you even let me die in peace?"_

"_Asch…" There it was, a blatant statement of what Luke had feared. The deep rumble of the earth moving came and went; the space between where they were and where the crevice began decreased by half. _

_Their remaining time was short. _

_Asch let his head droop forward, posture suggestive a deep-seated weariness. Recovering from his fall, Luke slid over to the side of the rock, checking the spikes that secured the chains that held Asch in place. He yanked on them, hoping that maybe, just maybe, they would come out with enough effort….but no, they remained where they were at, stubbornly resisting the best of his attempts._

"_Don't bother," Asch said, watching him, and another half a meter vanished into the abyss. "This was destined to happen anyway." His voice suddenly dropped in volume as he shuddered in apparent pain. "Though I would have preferred that you had let me bleed—a quick death would have been far kinder."_

_Luke was shocked by the fatalism he was being faced with. Here was—was Asch, just….talking calmly about his own death. Though when he looked closer, he saw that the God General was shaking, albeit almost imperceptibly. Luke crawled back up, grasped his shoulders and gave him a good shake, earning himself an irate glare for his efforts. "So what? You're going to just—give up?"_

"_It is not so much giving up as it is accepting something that is inevitable." Asch said. "Now leave." _

"_No!"_

"_Do you wish to die so badly? I would have granted you this, had I known."_

"_I don't want to die, and you don't either. We'll find a way to free you from here!"_

"_Don't be an idiot." Asch paused. "No, that might be impossible for you."_

"_Asch…"_

"_If you're here when the ground gives way, you'll fall too. Do you understand? Now leave, if you value your life."_

"_No! You're coming with me!"_

"_What are you, blind?" Asch gave a harsh yank on the shackles that bound him inexorably in place to emphasize his point. "I cannot leave this place."_

"_We'll find a way!" _

"_There isn't one. I've tried."_

"_We'll try it together!" Luke grabbed his hand. "If we work together…"A soft glow lit his hands, intensifying where their fingers intertwined, spreading outwards…and where the light touched the chains, the metal melted away as if it had never existed. _

"_A dual hyper-resonance?" Asch murmured, examining his freed hand. "Or merely a more powerful, more refined form of the original?" He sighed. "This doesn't make any sense."_

"_Do you have to know what it means? Just accept it for now and let's get out of here!" _

_Asch shot him a peeved look, but allowed himself to be herded off of the rock by his replica. "This merely delays what will come, you know," he said as they walked away, boulder tipping over the edge moments after they had cleared it. "I can't last much longer in my current condition." _

"_It might be enough time. It _will_ be enough time."_

"_Perhaps." The ground shook beneath their feet. " Perhaps not."_

--

Luke blinked awake. "Asch? Are you there?"

There was grunt of extreme discomfort before the faint reply came. "….yes. For the time being."

"I'm going to drag us over to the door. I know it hurts to move, but hang in there, okay?"

Another non-committal noise.

Luke pushed the tray aside, food forgotten, and climbed to his feet. As gently as possible, he lifted Asch and carefully pulled him over to where the door lay before propping Asch against himself and reaching for his hand.

"Lend me your focus," he said, "I'm going to try to take down the door."

Asch's fingers twitched imperceptibly in his grasp, and Asch opened their connection. Luke's head began to throb, but when he went to call for fonons, there was an additional sense of zeroing in, of concentration; he found many more coming to his aid than had appeared before.

Would it be enough?

The glow intensified, until it began blinding both of them with its brilliance, particularly after their extended period of time spent with no light at all. When he had reached a sufficient level of attraction, Luke suddenly directed the focus of the resonance at the door.

_Please let it be enough._

It was enough. Luke ducked his head for cover, arms coming forward to protect Asch's prone form as best as he could from the debris as the door practically exploded outwards. He coughed from the dust, then turned his view down the hallway.

Footsteps echoed down the hall—and Luke's heart sank. Hopefully the guards wouldn't be too heavily armored…perhaps he could take a sword from one of them. He gently disentangled Asch from himself—noticing that Asch had again slipped into unconsciousness—and stood, cautiously taking a few steps forward into the cloud of dust. The footsteps continued at a fast clip and before Luke knew it he was being tackled by a pink, white and purple blur.

"Anise!?"

"Luke!" And there was Tear's voice, sounding as desperate as the last time he had seen her.

"Ewww," said Anise, as she pulled back from Luke. "You're all covered in blood!"

Anise…was right. This brought his attention back to certain pressing matters.

"Tear! Hurry! Asch is—"

"Asch!?" There was the sound of arrows twanging from somewhere down the hallway, and then Natalia was upon them, hair wild about her face and strikingly discordant with the prim and proper disposition she usually tried to convey. The light from the hallway flooded the doorway behind them, and a portion of Asch's prone form could be seen through it. "Asch!"

Natalia barreled through them, dropping her bow at her side as she sank to her knees. "Is he…?"

"Not yet, but he will be soon if we don't do something." Luke turned to Tear. "Natalia, Tear, could you…?"

"We're on it," Tear joined Natalia at Asch's side, and placing her hands over him, began to sing, soft melody striking a harsh contrast with the sounds of fighting coming from further down the hall.

Luke cast a nervous glance back at Asch, then stepped forward into the hallway, Anise following. He couldn't do anything more for him now—this was Tear and Natalia's field. The most he could do was buy them enough time to get Asch to a point where he wouldn't die from the stress of being moved.

"Where are the others?" Luke asked, as Anise stepped forward and climbed onto Tokunaga.

"Up ahead, holding off the others." Anise was sniffling. She was a young girl after all; seeing someone who lay so close to death was frightening, even if she was experienced in the ways of the world for a thirteen year old.

They reached the junction of a hallway, and stumbled upon Guy and Jade as they did so. The former stood in front of the latter, blade flashing out to catch any who managed to live past Jade's bombardment of artes. Spotting them, Guy glanced back before throwing out one of the two other swords that lined his belt to Luke. "We found their weapons cache--catch!"

Luke caught it, recognized his blade. Was that Asch's that hung at Guy's side…?

Moving forward, he joined Guy in defending the hallway passage. "What's the situation?" he called out, blocking a uniformed soldier's parry and slipping his sword into the junction between the arm and shoulder where the armor did not quite meet all the way. The soldier cried out, dropping his sword and clutching his arm as he fell back. Others took his place.

"I'll leave the details of how we found this place for a more _pleasant _time," Jade said, spear appearing in a flash to intercept a pike aimed at Guy's head. "Suffice it to say that Van took a few researchers hostage, and was intending to conduct a rather interesting experiment with the two of you."

"What?"

"Now is hardly the time for a crash course in isofonic fundamentals; let us say that only one of you was meant to come out of that room alive."

With an arcing slash, Guy sent the last of their enemies rebounding off of Tokunaga, who promptly sent them crashing to the floor. "We should get out of here. There'll probably be another wave of them soon."

"Anise, go back to the others and see if Asch can be moved," Jade directed. "We will hold our position here so as to be certain that we do not become entrapped."

Anise nodded and bounded off.

Luke stretched, sword in hand. He hadn't been getting much in the way of exercise lately, and he was more than a little stiff. His mind flickered to Asch…surely, he would know if he…..passed….wouldn't he?

_/Well, what do you know./_

Luke winced as his head twinged._ /Asch?/_

_/Unless you know of another individual tuned in to our 'convenient communications network.'/_

_/...are you all right?/_

_/…I'm not feeling spectacular, but they seem to think that I'm well enough to be moved./ _A pause._ /Enjoyable as that is sure to be./_

_/It could be worse./_

_/Don't tell me what I already know, idiot./_

_/Shut up./_ Well, if Asch was feeling up to insulting him, perhaps things were going to be all right after all.

"We can move Asch," Luke said to Guy and Jade.

"Huh?" Guy blinked.

"How severely is he damaged?" asked Jade, not missing a beat.

"Uhm, I don't know," Luke said. "He was throwing up and stuff even from the time they threw him in with me. And bleeding a lot. And he broke his ribs, he said."

Guy winced sympathetically. "Ouch."

"Yeah….he seemed to be in a lot of pain."

"The most serious complications involve the rupturing of the body's organs and the buildup of fluids or air around parts vital to the respiratory system…I believe we can rule out a direct puncture of the lungs, as lung collapse is both dire and immediate in its effects. The former options still remain possibilities," Jade mused. "Even in the best of cases, our dear God-General is not going to be a happy camper, as they say."

"Can they fix that sort of thing?" asked Luke.

"Which part?"

"The internal bleeding, and buildup and stuff..."

"Seventh fonists—the usual type, anyway—are quite adept at linking cells back together and repairing body tissue. Considering the likely extent of the injuries, it will be a long and difficult task, but I have faith in the capabilities of our comrades." Jade replied. "Though the majority of the work shall have to be done _after_ we make our esteemed departure from this place."

_/Oh hell--get me off of this thing...!/_

_/Goddammit, Asch./_ Luke grimaced. _/Now you're giving me a migraine./_

_/Shut up, I don't want to hear it. This is--/_

Tear and Natalia rejoined the group, followed closely by Tokunaga with Anise walking alongside it.

Walking alongside it?

Ah, that was what he had been complaining about. They had draped Asch over Anise's oversized doll, and it _was_ a bit of a sight to see the prickly God General's limp form splayed out on it. Despite his exhaustion, or perhaps because of it, Luke began to giggle, causing Guy to give him a strange look.

"Sorry—it's just—"

"We should get moving," said Tear, making a pointed effort not to look behind her at the doll carrying Asch. Luke had noticed that she seemed awkward around cutesy things in the past—did this somehow qualify as cute? Retardedly, Luke found himself agreeing mentally with this conclusion. It _was_ a completely ridiculous sight.

_/Stop laughing at me!/ _Asch was angry. But then, Asch was _always_ angry.

_/Stop giving me headaches!/_

"Let's get out of here before Asch decides to blow my head apart with his griping," Luke suggested, tightening his grip on his recently re-acquired sword and determinedly walking towards the fork on the left of the path split in front of them.

"Uhm, Luke…." started Natalia.

"What?"

"The exit lies some distance along the pathway on the right."

"Oh….oh."

"Noelle has the Albiore in holding position above this facility," Jade mentioned casually as they went down the hallway on the _right_. "Fortunately for us, anti-aircraft devices seem to be nonexistent here."

"So we just have to get outside, then?" asked Luke, trotting down the corridor after him.

"Yes."

"How far is it?"

"A little ways," said Tear, reaching out a hand to steady Asch. "I'm still concerned about Asch, there was only so much I could stabilize in the time—"

"We have no choice," said Jade. "Staying here is not an option, we don't know when Van might return."

"I know," said Tear, expression hardening.

"Van was here?" asked Luke.

"Yes, however, I managed to set about a chain of events that….diverted his attention." Jade smirked. "Foolish of him to assume that he was the only one who managed to procure the details of Dist's research."

"The details…?"

"Later," said Jade, hearing the sound of footsteps ahead. "Tear, if you would…"

"Right," she said, falling into the soothing strains of melody with practiced ease. By the time they reached the soldiers, they were strewn about the hallway completely asleep.

"A handy ability, that." Jade remarked. "And here is our exit."

He set a hand on the door, motioning the others to wait. Cracking it, he peered through…and gently closed it again. "We are going to have to set up a diversion," he announced after shutting it. "We have company."

"Oh, _hell._" Luke just wanted somewhere to crash—he was tired, and he was _hungry._ Although it seemed like he was going to have to wait a little longer on both accounts.

"Who is out there?" asked Natalia.

"Sync and Largo," Jade replied, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "Assuredly, they will have noticed the Albiore in circuit. As such, it seems that we will have to engage them until Noelle can manage a landing."

"Is there no other way?" said Tear.

"I suspect not." said Jade. "Our plan will be as follows: Anise will go with Asch and escort him to the place where we disembarked, along with Natalia and Guy. Tear, Luke, and myself will stay here until you have reached the airship, then retreat when signaled."

"There should be signal flares equipped on the ship," said Guy. "The Albiore utilizes state of the art fonic—"

"Yes yes, I know," said Jade, waving his hand. "Now, I am going to open this door and proceed on through it to meet our dear God-Generals. Luke, Tear, if you would be so kind as to accompany me….the rest of you should depart as soon as possible, but not _immediately. _Wait until we have their attention, but be aware of remaining soldiers within the facility."

Heads nodded around the group.

"One last thing," Jade said, turning to Luke. "Are you capable of fighting? You don't seem injured, but you are quite thoroughly drenched in blood."

"I'm tired, but…I'm fine." Luke sighed. "They didn't hurt me as much as they hurt Asch…most of this is his."

"I thought as much." Jade placed a hand on the door knob. "Well then, we shouldn't be so inconsiderate as to keep them waiting."

The effect was immediate; Sync and Largo immediately swiveled their direction as soon as they stepped through the door. Led by Jade, Luke and Tear did not follow a straight path towards them, rather opting for a straight path along from the facility. As expected, Sync and Largo intercepted them rather quickly.

"Leaving so soon?" sneered Sync. "The fun's just starting."

"I find this location rather bland, actually," remarked Jade. "Acres of forest and a subpar fomicry facility don't exactly constitute a grand tourist attraction."

"Shut up! I'll kill you!"

"As friendly as ever, I see." Jade dodged Sync easily as he crossed the remaining distance to take a swipe at him. "Well then, allow me to show how it is that I obtained the title of 'Necromancer'…"

Largo closed in as Tear and Luke drew their weapons, the fireworks-like shower of incandescence typical of Jade's fonic artes lighting the air around them.

A few minutes passed before a loud crack filled the air, and Luke turned to see the signal flare from the Albiore just as it reached its peak.

"So sorry to leave your company so soon, but that would be our cue to leave," Jade said, and Luke and Tear jumped back out of the way in time for him to light a wall of fire around the two. "Come now, it won't hold them for long." He said, turning and diving into the stretch of forest that lay between them and the Albiore.

It was a rough half mile—particularly for Luke, whose stamina was wearing thin—and everyone was on edge expectantly listening for the sound of rustling behind them. Yet before he knew it, they'd come to a clearing, within which lay the Albiore…and then they were climbing the entrance platform; Guy's voice somewhere above deck urging Noelle to take off.

They climbed to the pilot room, and no sooner had Luke stepped foot in the place than he found that, hey, the Albiore really felt sort of shaky, maybe they were in some sort of turbulence, though that didn't really explain why he felt so warm, but…

The next thing he knew, he was gazing up at Tear's worried face. How had ended up on the floor?

"….ou all right?" was all he caught of what she said, and then Jade—where the hell had he gotten that mini flashlight from?—was shining a light in his eyes, checking for something.

"Get offa me…" Luke brushed the Necromancer's hands away off his face, feeling a little more normal with every passing moment.

"Overexerted himself," Jade pronounced. "Although there is perhaps more to the issue than immediately apparent."

Luke sat up slowly, conscious of everyone's worried stares. "…how's Asch?"

"Stable for the moment, but he's out again," said Natalia. "I've bandaged his wounds as much as I can with the medical kit on board, but it is imperative that we land for more supplies sometime in the near future."

"We will stop for a place to stay, soon." Jade said. "You can doctor him to your heart's content once we arrive there, princess."

Natalia flushed and turned back to Asch. "I still can't believe that Van would condone such terrible treatment of him, even with everything he has done."

"It is perplexing," said Tear. "My brother has always seemed to have some sort of interest in keeping Asch alive, why would he suddenly go to such extremes and deny him medical attention in a life-threatening situation?"

"Maybe he didn't know how badly Asch was hurt?" asked Luke.

"No," said Jade, tone deadly serious. "He knew."

"How can you be so certain?" said Luke.

Jade let out a long sigh. "Perfect isofons are difficult to create, and as such the field is relatively undeveloped. However, my one time colleague seems to have managed to create one more set of them, and therein lies the answer to Van's behavior."

"You wouldn't tell us before what those results were," said Tear. "Are you going to tell us now?"

"No, I am not," Jade replied. "I will address the concerned parties directly when they have both recuperated to a sufficient extent."

Luke's stomach flip-flopped. The waiting was going to kill him, he knew it. Maybe later tonight he could pester the colonel into….no, he did not want to pester the colonel. If it were anyone else, it would have been a viable option, but one did not bother Jade unless one enjoyed being subjected to the man's off-color wit.

Still…the man's secrecy on the matter worried him. Asch had been so fatalistic…something was up. Luke would hazard to guess that Asch already knew something on the matter, but to what degree he didn't know...

What more could go wrong?

Luke settled back more firmly against the wall, and the feeling came over him that he really did not want to know the answer to that question…


End file.
